Vernacular vs. Idiom: What's the Difference?
Vernacular and Idiom Definitions
Vernacular
The everyday language spoken by a people as distinguished from the literary language.
Idiom
A speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements, as in keep tabs on.
Vernacular
A variety of such everyday language specific to a social group or region
The vernaculars of New York City.
Idiom
The specific grammatical, syntactic, and structural character of a given language.
Vernacular
The specialized vocabulary of a particular trade, profession, or group
In the legal vernacular.
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Idiom
Regional speech or dialect.
Vernacular
The common, nonscientific name of a plant or animal.
Idiom
A specialized vocabulary used by a group of people; jargon
Legal idiom.
Vernacular
Native to or commonly spoken by the members of a particular country or region.
Idiom
A style of artistic expression characteristic of a particular individual, school, period, or medium
The idiom of the French impressionists.
The punk rock idiom.
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Vernacular
Using the native language of a region, especially as distinct from the literary language
A vernacular poet.
Idiom
A manner of speaking, a mode of expression peculiar to a language, language family, or group of people.
In English, idiom requires the indefinite article in a phrase such as "she's an engineer", whereas in Spanish, idiom forbids it.
Some of the usage prescriptions improved clarity and were kept; others that yielded discordant violations of idiom were eventually revised.
Vernacular
Relating to or expressed in the native language or dialect.
Idiom
(programming) A programming construct or phraseology that is characteristic of the language.
Vernacular
Of or being an indigenous building style using local materials and traditional methods of construction and ornament, especially as distinguished from academic or historical architectural styles.
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Idiom
A language or language variety; specifically, a restricted dialect used in a given historical period, context etc.
In the idiom of the day, they were sutlers, although today they'd probably be called vendors.
Vernacular
Occurring or existing in a particular locality; endemic
A vernacular disease.
Idiom
An established phrasal expression whose meaning may not be deducible from the literal meanings of its component words.
She often spoke in idioms, pining for salad days and complaining about pots calling the kettle black.
Vernacular
Relating to or designating the common, nonscientific name of a biological species.
Idiom
An artistic style (for example, in art, architecture, or music); an instance of such a style.
The idiom of the expressionists
Vernacular
The language of a people or a national language.
A vernacular of the United States is English.
Idiom
The syntactical or structural form peculiar to any language; the genius or cast of a language.
Idiom may be employed loosely and figuratively as a synonym of language or dialect, but in its proper sense it signifies the totality of the general rules of construction which characterize the syntax of a particular language and distinguish it from other tongues.
By idiom is meant the use of words which is peculiar to a particular language.
He followed their language [the Latin], but did not comply with the idiom of ours.
Vernacular
Everyday speech or dialect, including colloquialisms, as opposed to standard, literary, liturgical, or scientific idiom.
Street vernacular can be quite different from what is heard elsewhere.
Idiom
An expression conforming or appropriate to the peculiar structural form of a language.
Some that with care true eloquence shall teach,And to just idioms fix our doubtful speech.
Vernacular
Language unique to a particular group of people.
For those of a certain age, hiphop vernacular might just as well be a foreign language.
Idiom
A combination of words having a meaning peculiar to itself and not predictable as a combination of the meanings of the individual words, but sanctioned by usage; as, an idiomatic expression; less commonly, a single word used in a peculiar sense.
It is not by means of rules that such idioms as the following are made current: "I can make nothing of it." "He treats his subject home." Dryden. "It is that within us that makes for righteousness." M. Arnold.
Sometimes we identify the words with the object - though by courtesy of idiom rather than in strict propriety of language.
Vernacular
A language lacking standardization or a written form.
Idiom
The phrase forms peculiar to a particular author; as, written in his own idiom.
Every good writer has much idiom.
Vernacular
Indigenous spoken language, as distinct from a literary or liturgical language such as Ecclesiastical Latin.
Vatican II allowed the celebration of the mass in the vernacular.
Idiom
Dialect; a variant form of a language.
Vernacular
(architecture) A style of architecture involving local building materials and styles, not imported.
Idiom
A manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language
Vernacular
Of or pertaining to everyday language, as opposed to standard, literary, liturgical, or scientific idiom.
Idiom
The usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people;
The immigrants spoke an odd dialect of English
He has a strong German accent
Vernacular
Belonging to the country of one's birth; one's own by birth or nature.
A vernacular disease
Idiom
The style of a particular artist or school or movement;
An imaginative orchestral idiom
Vernacular
(architecture) Of or related to local building materials and styles; not imported.
Idiom
An expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up
Vernacular
(art) Connected to a collective memory; not imported.
Vernacular
Belonging to the country of one's birth; one's own by birth or nature; native; indigenous; - now used chiefly of language; as, English is our vernacular language.
His skill in the vernacular dialect of the Celtic tongue.
Which in our vernacular idiom may be thus interpreted.
Vernacular
The vernacular language; one's mother tongue; often, the common forms of expression in a particular locality, opposed to literary or learned forms.
Vernacular
A characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves);
They don't speak our lingo
Vernacular
The everyday speech of the people (as distinguished from literary language)
Vernacular
Being or characteristic of or appropriate to everyday language;
Common parlance
A vernacular term
Vernacular speakers
The vulgar tongue of the masses
The technical and vulgar names for an animal species
